


Because of you I'm better, baby

by crayyyonn



Series: Ghoulies, ghosties, long-leggedy beasties [5]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 16:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12939285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayyyonn/pseuds/crayyyonn
Summary: Every relationship needs a period of adjustment. It's just a little messier with a vampire and a werewolf.





	Because of you I'm better, baby

**Author's Note:**

> title from day6's BETTER BETTER go listen to it kthx

The thought strikes at random one afternoon in the early days of the vampire and werewolf having moved in, so Jaebum puts his battered paperback down and voices the question without thinking much of it.

“What do you do for food?”

Yugyeom shrugs, attention fixed on the game he’s playing. “I can’t eat most things, they make me sick.”

“Yeah I figured, so what do you do to stay alive? I mean, not _alive_ alive, but, you know.”

The glance Yugyeom sends his way is quick and amused, as if saying _Really? You sure you want to go there?_ And well, Jaebum doesn’t, but if he’s to be their caretaker he needs to know these things.

“I just fed two nights ago hyung, I can go without for some time.”

Not quite wanting to delve into what (or who) exactly Yugyeom has ‘fed’ on, Jaebum says, “Yeah, but after? What will you do when you get hungry?”

“I’ll think of something,” comes the absent reply.

In a surge of irritation half based upon the fact that Yugyeom had been single-mindedly shredding his high scores for the past half an hour, Jaebum snatches the controller out of his hands. He’s been working on those scores for months, he feels justified.

“Hey!”

Unintimidated, Jaebum glares back, and Yugyeom rolls his eyes, huffing, “I have a friend, a donor, I guess. He lets me take his blood in exchange for mine.”

“Why would he want your blood?’

“Research, I guess? I’ve never asked. Bambam works at the university lab.”

Jaebum hums. He’s wary of this Bambam character, he’s not sure if he can be trusted. Seeming to read his mind, Yugyeom tells him, “He’s a good guy, we were living with him before we came here.”

 _Living with_ —narrowing his eyes, Jaebum thinks back on the past two months. Living with Yugyeom and Jackson have entailed lazy days curled up on the couch and long conversations about everything and nothing. It entailed playing referee to them when they squabble during the day and being sandwiched between them and fought over at night. It meant showing them the finer aspects of living like humans, of petting the tangles out of Jackson’s coarse fur on full moon nights, listening for Yugyeom’s heartbeat whenever he sleeps like the literal dead. (It’s slow and spaced out but it’s there.)

It meant passionate, calorie burning sex, with more mouths and hands and appendages that they know what to do with but is still the best Jaebum has ever had, and he’s loathe to think that someone else has known the cleverness of Jackson’s tongue, the icy burn of Yugyeom’s touch. Jaebum scowls. Whoever this Bambam person is (and what kind of name is that anyway?), he dislikes him already.

“In fact, I think Jackson hyung’s probably hanging out with him now. He loves Pudding and Latte. Bambam’s cats,” Yugyeom supplies, then continues wistfully, “I should have gone too, I miss them.”

So that’s where Jackson had disappeared to since early in the morning, probably where he goes every time he leaves the house. He’d wondered. Picking up his discarded novel, he slides a glare at Yugyeom.

“Well, maybe it’s time you move back in with your _Bambam_ and stopped mooching off me,” he bites, before stomping off to the bedroom.

 

An hour later, he’s feeling incredibly stupid, hungry, and much too warm underneath the covers he’d pulled over himself in a snit. He’d thought Yugyeom would have come after him and soothe his ruffled feathers, so to speak, come to convince him that he’s the only human they want to live with, the only human they have affection for, but it’s been an hour and nothing.

He sits up, listens for movement outside, letting the covers fall away from his body. When he doesn’t hear anything, he opens the door to peek out into the living room.

It’s empty.

Blinking, he steps out, pads past the living room into the kitchen. Empty. The guest bedroom, empty. Bathrooms, laundry room, attic, he even checks the room doubling as a wardrobe for the three of them that’s mostly filled with Jackson’s clothes. Empty, empty, empty.

Well then.

He heads back to the kitchen, deciding to heat up some leftover pizza. Yugyeom must have gone to bring Jackson back, or is out getting groceries, or finding a willing victim, whatever a vampire does at four in the afternoon. And Jackson will probably be back soon, he’d been enthusiastic when Jaebum promised steak for dinner at breakfast. Jaebum will just continue reading his book while he waits, they’ll be home soon.

Two hours later, the house is still silent and he’s still waiting.

He puts down his book without dog-earing it. There’s no point, he hasn’t managed to read more than a chapter, and even those few pages, he had to reread a couple of times. It’s time to face the truth, he tells himself. Be a man about it.

Because it looks like Yugyeom has taken his words to heart and—and _left_ , the asshole. Fine. No problem. Jaebum has missed having his space anyway. He’d thought his house was huge for one but having two more people in it had seemed a little crowded at times, with how loud Jackson can be and how quickly Yugyeom moves from spot to spot. He’s glad to have his house back to himself. He can read in peace without having Jackson cuddling up to him for scratches, the heat from his body making him feel overwarm in seconds, he can take long baths without anticipating Yugyeom pouncing on him and making him the opposite of clean. He can finally spend quality time with himself again.

He thinks back to before that fated Halloween night, to the years of living alone since his parents’ passing. No one is going to nag him about eating healthier, about drinking green tea instead of his usual sugar-loaded drinks; no one is going to volunteer to help him around the house when the urge to clean strikes but end up hindering more than helping. To pull him into an unquestioning embrace that threatens to suffocate him whenever he’s feeling even the slightest bit down, the tiniest bit lonely. His house, his bed, his _life_ is his again and he’s fucking glad for it.

He tosses the pizza away, untouched, and drags out the six pack instead.

 

He’s on his fifth beer when the front door opens to not just Yugyeom, but Jackson too, who instantly tuts at the empty cans littering the coffee table.

“Why are you drinking?” he scolds. “You know it’s not good for you. Did you at least eat something before to pad your stomach?”

Not even five seconds through the door and already with the nagging. Jaebum scowls, curling into himself when they come to sit on either side of him. “Why did you come back? Forget something?”

He makes sure not an inch of skin is touching either of them, dodges when arms reach out familiarly for him. It’s not as easy to ignore the hurt look on Yugyeom’s face. He valiantly tries anyway, but is blindsided by something the vampire digs from his pocket and holds out to him. He blinks, waiting for his vision to cease being blurry, and finally makes out the wad of cash.

“Wait, why do you have money,” he says, first confusion, then horror cutting through the haze of alcohol. “How do you have money?”

“How do you think,” Jackson snickers.

“Oh dear god, did you—did you rob a store?”

Jackson laughs harder, and Jaebum smacks him on the arm, hard, sending him toppling off the couch. Jaebum doesn’t feel a shred of guilt. Crime is no laughing matter!

“What? No, I got a job,” Yugyeom explains, like it’s the most logical thing in the world. 

“You were out for barely half a day, no way you got a job!”

“Well, I asked Bambam if he had odd jobs he needed doing, and I might have enthralled the manager at the deli in town,” comes the sheepish reply. Then he hastily continues, “Just a tiny bit though! Just enough for her to hire me. Here, it’s for you.”

He thrusts the money at Jaebum, who shrinks away, mildly alarmed by the attack. “What? Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because,” Jackson finally says, exasperated. “The kid thinks if we pay for our stay here you won’t be able to tell us to leave.”

Ignoring the way Jaebum is avoiding touching him, he leans forward, resting his chin on Jaebum’s knee and reaches up to ruffle Yugyeom’ hair affectionately. Shrugging him off, the vampire reaches out for Jaebum, who lets himself be drawn into the cool embrace this time, muggy head still spinning a little from the alcohol and the revelation. His neck tickles where Yugyeom buries his face.

“We don’t want to live with Bambam, we want to live with you,” Yugyeom mumbles into his shoulder. “Please don’t kick us out.”

Remorse, then heady relief, washes over Jaebum. “I won’t. I wouldn’t,” he reassures him, nuzzling into Yugyeom’s soft hair. Then there’s a hand on his waist, slipping under the hem of his shirt. It’s searing in its warmth and Jaebum repeats it for Jackson too, just in case.

“You can stay here for as long as you want,” he promises, and lets himself get swept off by heat and ice.

 

-

 

“What’s with him?”

It’s a week later, and Yugyeom has been curled up on the couch for most of the day. While it’s not strange for the vampire to be sleeping when the sun is high, he hasn’t moved once, not even when Jaebum announces that he’s making carbonara for lunch. Yugyeom loves carbonara; it’s about the only thing he can eat. The lack of response, of _movement_ from him is not like him at all. 

Glancing up from the book he has his nose buried in, Jackson shoots Jaebum a placating smile. “Don’t worry about it, he’ll be fine.”

“He doesn’t look fine,” Jaebum says.

Making his way to the couch, he perches next to Yugyeom and lays the back of his hand on his forehead. Then he feels silly, because of course it’s freezing cold. What did he expect?

But it at least makes Yugyeom crack open a sleep crusted eye. A bloodshot eye, which is strange and mildly alarming, because he barely has any blood in him as is. “Hey hyung.” His voice is raspy from disuse.

“You feeling okay?”

Yugyeom nods, but it’s a tired, weak thing. “Yeah.”

“You don’t look it,” Jaebum tells him.

The doorbell rings then. Jackson volunteers to get it, leaving Jaebum to his fretting. For want of something to do, he runs his fingers through the soft hair, smoothing it off his forehead. Yugyeom barely reacts to the touch. He’s so worried he doesn’t hear Jackson returning, nor does he notice the presence of a newcomer until he’s right next to him, telling him to move.

“Excuse me?” Jaw clenched, he looks the newcomer up and down, who’s dressed to the nines, skinny frame and tan skin emphasized by figure hugging jeans and a shimmery leopard print shirt. He’s flashy, and exactly the type Jaebum dislikes. He narrows his eyes. “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?”

“I called him, hyung, that’s Bambam. We used to live with him.” Jackson lays a pacifying hand on his shoulder. “He’s Yugyeom’s donor.”

“Donor?”

“How can you live with this guy?” Bambam cuts in before Jackson can explain. “He doesn’t know the first thing about you.”

He flaps a hand at Jaebum, indicating for him to move away, and sits down next to Yugyeom. The familiar hand he lays on Yugyeom’s cheek makes Jaebum seethe.

“Gyeom, hey.”

Jaebum watches as Yugyeom’s eyes flutter open, pupils dilating until they’re fully red when Bambam holds his wrist to Yugyeom’s mouth. Nostrils flaring, his mouth opens in a hiss, revealing teeth that lengthen right before their eyes. He sinks them into the profferred wrist, making Bambam wince.

The sound of his sucking is loud. Jaebum turns away.

“Gyeom’s been feeding off Bambam’s blood exclusively for the past two years or so, ever since we met him. Bam usually gives it to him in a blood bag, but since he’s so weak right now he can’t suck from one, hence,” he gestures at the scene on the couch. Jaebum keeps his eyes averted, not sure he wants to see Yugyeom draining Bambam’s lifeblood on their couch. 

It seems interminable, Yugyeom’s feeding, but the clock on the wall says it’s only been a couple of minutes when the sounds stop. When Jaebum finally looks back at them, Yugyeom is sitting up, wiping at his mouth with a hand and licking off the excess blood. He looks better already, cheeks plumper, and just a tiny bit rosy. Bambam is slumped against him, looking paler than earlier but none the worse for wear.

“I’ll get you some juice,” Jackson says, and heads off to the kitchen, leaving the three of them in the living room.

There's a long moment of silence as they stare awkwardly at each other. Then Jaebum is making to step toward the couch when Yugyeom’s eyes flicker to his, before dart away quickly and focusing on Bambam instead. It feels a little like rejection, that. It stills his footsteps. 

“Thanks Bam,” he hears. “You didn’t have to come over.”

“You kidding? If Jackson hadn’t called you would have starved to death! You’re my best friend, of course I came.” Bambam replies, indignant. Jaebum is pretty impressed by the strength in his voice, though he frowns a little at ‘best friend’.

Still, “Starved to _death_?” he asks.

It gets him a dismissive hand. “Figure of speech. He already dying anyway, but now he’ll cease to function. You’ve lived together for how long now? How do you not know that?”

The way Yugyeom still isn’t looking at Jaebum rankles. Having had enough, he steps forward, not stopping until he’s standing right in front of the vampire. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

With two fingers on his chin, he makes Yugyeom look up at him, ready to force an answer out of him if he has to. But then he sees the stricken look in Yugyeom’s eyes, and the resentment and rage disappears in a flash. Then Yugyeom reaches out and wraps his arms tightly around Jaebum’s waist, leaning forward to bury his face against his belly. He noses it a little, the way Jackson likes to do to them when he’s feeling lonely.

“I didn’t want you to hate me,” he finally mumbles, voice low.

“What? Why would I hate you?” It takes a few seconds for the pieces to fall into place. “Because of the blood thing?”

A tiny nod, and then the arms tighten even more, as if preventing him from moving away. Jaebum pets him, running soothing fingers through his hair down to his nape. He squeezes it in gentle reprimand. 

“You idiot, I already know you drink blood, you told me that yourself. I’m just saying, you could have come to me for it, is all.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“If it means you won’t be in pain, I don’t mind,” Jaebum tells him. He smiles down at Yugyeom when he finally looks up, fond. He’d take all the pain in the world over seeing him or Jackson suffer.

“Hyung," Yugyeom starts, but their moment is quickly cut short by Bambam.

“ _Ew_ ," he says feelingly. “Quit the sappy shit. I’ll teach you how to draw your blood to feed him if it’s what it takes for you to not do this in my immediate vicinity thank you _very_ much.”

Of course, that’s exactly when Jackson returns, shoves a glass of juice at Bambam, then pushes Jaebum down onto the couch, immediately nuzzling close. “You’re just jealous, Bam. We ought to find you someone.”

It’s met with an annoyed _tsk_. “Ain’t nobody got time for that,” Bambam tells them. Yugyeom just grins and pulls him into their makeshift huddle.

“It’s okay, we’ll be your family. Right, Jaebum hyung?”

With heat and ice on either side of him and laughter warming his skin, Jaebum finds he can’t really say no to that.

**Author's Note:**

> bambam finally appears hallelujah
> 
> this doesn't have any smut i'm amazed at myself


End file.
